Friday, April 8, 2016

Relive your pre-teen years, only worse, at Uncomfortable Brunch's screening of 'Welcome to the Dollhouse'

Movies are powerful. Blazing Saddles has made audiences laugh for decades. For some reason, A League of Their Own makes people cry. One night you’ll be cheering on the unforgiving Ellen Ripley and the next you’ll be praying for the demise of the seemingly indestructible T-1000. Cinema can summon a Pandora’s box of thoughts and emotions, but many don’t take advantage of the graphic ability of forcing you to feel sickened, disgusted and, above all else, disturbed. Uncomfortable Brunch, which takes place the first Sunday of every month over at Will’s Pub, is intent on fixing this. The series combines troubling flicks such as Enter the Void and Salò with themed meals – as if the final scene of Pink Flamingos weren’t hard enough to swallow on its own. April’s viewing revisits Todd Solondz’s work, this time through the coming-of-age Welcome to the Dollhouse. Dawn, a seventh grader, has absolutely nothing going for her. She’s ignored by her parents, her bully-turned-romantic interest attempts to rape her and life seems to only be getting worse. Your middle school days might’ve been bad, but they probably weren’t as awkward as Dawn’s, so revel in that fact with happy hour-priced mimosas and Bloody Marys available to keep you going from scene to uncomfortable scene.